Improvement in beidges



@utrn tat-,25 stent ffirr.

WILLIAM JAMES, or RIcIIMoND,'vIReINIA.

Letters Patent No. 63,901, dated April 16, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRIDGES.

dln rlgihnlc referat tu in ilgfn 'Etnias ttrnt nh mating part nf ilgsnm.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JAMES, of Richmond, county of Henrico, and State of Virginia, have invented' `u. new and useful Improvement in Suspension Bridges; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of the same, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of one of the towers or-abutments, showing the fines formed therein, and the direction of the suspension wires passing through said lines.

Figure 2 is alperspective view of the bridge; and

Figure 3 is a section showing some of the details hereafter' referred to.

Similar letters-of reference lndicate like parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in a. novel construction of the towers, abutments, or supports ofthe suspended bridge, whereby thc suspended wire, rods, or chains are made to penetrate and pass through curved openings, passages, or tlues formed therein, and in such manner as t0 afford extended bearing surfacesfor such wires or chains, as hereinafter explained. It further consists in the employment of a central drum or shaft, around which the suspension wires or chains are passed, whereby the frictional bearing surface and support for said wires or chains are increased or extended, as hereinafter explained. It further consists in -the employment of tight wire bottom and hand-rails, in combination with the suspensionwires, rods, or chains, in-the manner hereinafter described, whereby I am enabled to dispense with the guys or stays-ordinarily used to prevent the swaying or lateral oscillation of the bridge. It further consists in the employment of a windlass, in combination with the tight wire bottom and hand-rails, or with the suspending wires or chains, as hereinafter described.

To enable othersvto understand my invention, I will describe the-same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- A A represent two of the towers or abntments which form the support of the bridge, located upon the opposite banks of thc stream br ravine spanned thereby. lhese abutments may be made of any suitable form andinaterial, so long as the strength and stability required for the purposes hereinafter recited are attained. I have shown them as made of stone built up in pyramidal form in the ordinary manner; but instead of heilig made solid as heretofore, they are pierced with a series of flues or passages, which are intended to be large enough to allow the passage of men and materials through them, together with the requisite tools and machinery for the proper manipulation of thcsuspension wires, ropes, or chains, as hereinafter explained. These tlues are represented in the drawing at a a', b c d, and e. a a is a horizontal flue formed in the base of the column, and

extending through the same fromfront to rear; b is a circula)- line formed centrally in the base of the column in such manner as to intersect the Hue a a at its lowest point, the parts of llue a and a occupyingthe position lof ilues tangent to the circular ue b; cis a forked or branching tine extending from a point at the inner side of the circular flue b to the inner face of the column where it has its outlet or opening, shown at C. 'd is a curved flue starting from the outer side of the circular iluc b, and, rising near the outer surface of the tower or abutment, passes upward and inward to near the top thereof, and has its outlet or opening at d. .e is also a curved fille, which starts from the circular' lue b, at or near the same point with flue d, and curves upward and inward, terminating at the opening or outlet e intermediate between the lines c and d, as shown by the drawing. The central drum B, formed or located near the base of the column, and aro-.rnd which the circular i'lue b passes, may be built in the abutment in the same manner and of the same material as the rest of the abutment, or where the structure is small itmay be made of a single block of stone o r cast iron, or it may be made hollow, of iron plates securely fastened to suitable end or headblocks, and insteadiof being built in and made stationary and immovable as a part of the abutment, it may have bearings formed therein, and by means of proper levers and locking devices may be made to revolve and act as a windlass for the purpose of giving the proper degree of tension to the' suspension or tight wires of the bridge hereinafter described. frepresents a windlass, which may be of any usual construction, located in rear of and at the foot or base of the suspension tower or abutment, for a purpose hereinafter explained. g represents the'tight bottom wire or wires on which the flooring of the bridge rests, and is secured vin any usual manner. Valso a tight wire forming the hand-rail, arranged atV a proper distance above the bottom or flooring wire g, and lying parallel therewith. c is the main or upper susessor 2 pension wire which is allowed to droop and assume a bracing form in the manner shown by the drawing, and

is a secondary suspension wire or rod occupying a position intermediate between the tight hand-rail and the upper ormain suspension wire, and in the same vertical plane therewith. T here may be others of these intermediate wires arranged in the same vertical pl'ane and passing through suitable additional dues formed in the towers for the purpose of receiving them, and any desired number of either the tight or the suspension wires may be located side by side in the same horizontal plane, and passing through the same lues in the abutments for the purpose of giving the required strength of support to the structure. The wires are passed through the abutments or-towers in the' following manner, viz The bottom wires are passed in through the horizontal iiue a at the base ofthe tower, underneath and up on the outside of dr'um B, around thcsame, through the circular iue b, and out through a to a point at or near the base of the tower, as shown by .the arrows 1, (in black lines,) iig. 1, and are secured to windlass f, as hereinafter explained, or anchored in any usual manner. These bottom wires should be drawn to the highest practicable degree of tension, as they form the support or foundation on which the flooring of the bridge rests, and which, consequently, will conform or nearly conform thereto. The hand-rail h, which is also drawn tight, so as to lie parallel with the flooring of the bridge, passes into the abutment at C', through'flue C, under and around drum B, through the circular flue b,in the same direction as the bottom wiresg, as shown by the arrows 2, (in green lines fig. 1, and outat a', where they are secured in a manner similar to the bottom wires y. The drooping suspension wire k passes in at the opening d', outward andv downward through curved flue d to the circular flue b, underneath, and up on the inner side of the drum or shaft B, around through flue b in the direction indicated by arrows 3, (blue,) fig. 1and out'through `flue a to the base of the tower, on the inner side or face of the tower, where it may be anchored in any usual manner. ,The secondary or intermediate suspension wire entering at e', passes through the curved flue e to the circular ue b, when pursuing the same direction as wire k, (red arrows 4,) fig. 1, it passes around the drum and out at a, and is anchored or secured in a manner similar to k. The several wires above described, which constitute the `longitudinal suspension or tight wire bottom and hand-rails of one side of the bridge, are arranged in the same vertical plane, and are connected to each other by any de'sired number of vertical ties or-suspenders Z, in such manner as to relieve the tight flooring and hand-rail wires of the weight of the flooring, and to support them in a perfectly horizontal position, as shown by-the drawing. The connection ofthe vertical with the horizontal suspension wires may be made by means ofl suitable claspsy or clamps for that purpose. The tight wires are further connected by diagonal wires, rods, or braces m, fastened by suitable clasps, as shown vby the drawing. The series of bottom tight wires upon the one side of the bridge, and lying in the same horizontal plane, are locked together by means of grooved clamps n, and are con- 4 nected to those upop the opposite'side of the bridge by horizontal ties o, (see iig. The flues, as will be seen in iig. '2, are of D or half circular shape, affording extended dat bearing faces for the wires passing through them, in

such manner as to accommodate any desired number lying in the same plane. These lues may consist of iron v tubing of suitable form built in the tower, or of masonry with a facing of metal plates, if desired, to prevent the cutting or wearing of the wires, which might result if thc wires rested upon the rough-hewn surfaces of the stone of'which the abutments are built. (The object of the iiues is to provide an extended frictional surface on which the suspension wires rest, in such manner as to obviate the severe strain or cutting action consequent upon the use of the abrupt fastenings heretofore employed, and it will be seen that by :"the employment of the curved and of one or more circular dues, the frictional surface may be so extended as that a single light bolt may be suicient for the purpose of securing the ends of the wires, the action being similar to that of a ships windlass upon the cha'in or cable coiled around it. Where the central drum is made to revolve and serve as a means of giving the required tension to the wires, separate drums or shafts 'may be used, if desired, to accommodate the wires coiling inopposite directions, but ordinarily I prefer to employ the stationary drum builtin the abutment,

and the ordinary means for giving the proper tension to the wires passing around said drum. Where the wires are inserted in this way, the windlass f will be found useful in taking up the slack of the wires as they aredrawn over the central drum and through the fines, or for the purpose of providing a means for compensating for the expansion and contraction of the tight wires resulting from changes in the temperature, Ste. The flooring ofthe bridge may be applied in any usual or desired manner, and the sides of the bridge formed by the series-of wires and braces herein described, which are in the same vertical plane, may be boarded` up to any desired height, the boards being secured to the wires by suitable clamps, and tight wires, in addition to those above described, may be drawn through tlues ol in such manner as to afford a support or foundation for a roofing to the bridge, which may be applied in any convenient or desired manner. 'lhe employment of tight-wire bottom and hand-rails drawn, as above described, to the highest practicable degree of tension, prevents any oscillation or lateral vibration ofthe bridge, and consequently the necessity for the lateral stays or guys commonly used to prevent oscillation in suspension bridges as heretofore constructed is obviated.

Having now described how my invention may be carried out in practice', I would state that I am aware that the towers of suspension bridges have been perforated at or near their tops, in a horizontal or nearly horizontal direction, merely for the support at a proper height of the suspension wiresY passing through such horizontal perforations, and anchored at a distance therefrom; this I do not claim, but what I claim as my invention, is.;

1. The construction of the towers or supports of the bridge, with passages or iiues through which the sus- 'pension rods, wires, or chains, are passed in such manner :1s to form ex tended frictional bearings for said rods,

wires, or chains, substantially as described.'

2. The central drum'or shaft in the tower, aroundwhicb the suspension wires or rods are passed, substan tially as described.

3. Forming the sides of the passages or ilues lon which the suspension wires restwith an extended flattened bearing surface, to adapt them to receive any desired number of such wires or rods arranged side by side in the same horizontal plane, substantially as described.

Securing the ends of the wires or rods which pass through the perforated tower7 at a point or points at or near the brise of said tower, substzintiaiiy as described.

5. The tight wires, rods, or chains forming the bottom ot the bridge and passing through the perforated towers thereof, in combination with the suspension rods or chains, substtntially as described.

6. The manner of applying the tight wire hand-rail, whereby it is made' to form an additional support to the bridge, as described.

Y. The employment of one or more suspension rods or wires z', intermediate between the tight wire :ind suspension rods or wires L' and k, substantially -as described.

8. The arrangement of the suspension wires, rods, or ohnins z' k, tight hand-rail and bottom wires g l'z, and

vertical ties or Suspenders Z, in combination with the perforated towers or supports A, in the manner and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand this 23d dey of February, 1867.

WM. JAMES.

Witnesses:

EDM. F. BROWN, CHRIS. JOURGENSEN. 

